Icarus 17 March 2014

The CUMS Symphony Orchestra recently took part in a rather unusual outreach project, collaborating with the Outreach Team at the Faculty of Music and University of Cambridge Science Festival. CUMS Conducting Scholar Ben Glassberg tells us more about it…

“A rare challenge for any orchestra, particularly one comprised of students, is to provide a live soundtrack to a film. All the more challenging, given our audience was 400 primary school children! Thanks to the faculty outreach department (CAMEO), CUMS Symphony Orchestra was asked to perform Philip Glass’s score to the film Icarus at the Edge of Time, a short sci-fi work by film makers Al + Al. Working alongside our engaging narrator, Patrick Morris, the symphony orchestra performed Glass’s score to perfection in two performances at West Road. With only a time-code separating us from a car crash of a performance, the musicians’ playing was exemplary in their realisation of the score and displayed tremendous focus in following a conductor in the throes of trying not to panic. It was a real privilege for all involved to stage this unique performance for a particularly enthusiastic audience. Thanks to Joe Shaw (Music Outreach Officer), Vicky Simons (CUMS SO President) and Karys Orman (CUMS SO Assistant Orchestral Manager) for their help making this happen.”